Abstract

Introduction

Sustainable issues are being discussed more frequently due to concerns about the environment. Nordic Europe is advancing in strategies to make sustainable changes. The research aims to take a closer look at the sustainable education of children in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway and compare it to Ontario. If sustainable education in Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway is more advanced than in Ontario, then these practices may be inseminated into the Ontario curriculum.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a literature review was conducted for secondary data, using the official curriculum for Europe and Ontario. While looking through the Nordic and Ontario school curriculums (primary and secondary), a word frequency table was used to keep track of the number of times“sustainability/sustainable” was used in the syllabus. 

For primary data, two focus groups composed of six secondary school students in the York-Region were asked to engage in a 10-20 minute open-ended discussion regarding their sustainable education. An attempt was made to reach school staff and administrators, however, no staff member followed up with the questionnaire. 

Results

There are gaps within the Ontario school system when compared to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway's sustainable education. Students in Ontario had a lag in sustainable learning compared to the EU. Within the focus groups, students expressed concern that they are not well-equipped to deal with global issues regarding sustainability, and they did not know what the SDGs were. There was also the factor of little time to incorporate such topics in the classroom, as their workload was quite heavy.

Discussion

There needs to be a discussion on how school administrators and teaching staff can incorporate more sustainable education in their curricula. Europe incorporates the SDGs as a common teaching practice which may be a good approach for Ontario to use. There also needs to be an opportunity for students to voice their opinions on their satisfaction with their education. To combat global environmental issues, students everywhere need to be well-informed and educated to comprehend how to make appropriate changes and advocate for uprising issues.